The invention relates to a device for the floating mounting of a sealing housing about a rotating, deflecting shaft and with respect to a static part.
In very many technical spheres, a shaft is held in its entirety or via a shaft journal in a bearing in which the shaft rotates. This generally also involves shaft passages through a sealing housing where the intention is to prevent a medium from, for example, a space in which the shaft rotates from passing to the outside via the seal.
Floating seals of this type are exposed to diverse forces which stress and wear the sealing elements. In the event of wear, the corresponding sealing elements have to be easily replaceable.
Radial forces, and forces which act torsionally and axially can be mentioned in particular as the forces which act on a floating seal of this type.
The present invention is concerned, in particular, but in no way exclusively, with “mixing kneaders” for the mechanical and/or thermal treatment of products in a liquid, pasty and/or powdery state with or without the supply and removal of gases and/or steam, having a housing and a shaft which rotates about an axis of rotation in the housing and on which kneading elements are provided distributed in the axial direction. For example, a mixing kneader of this type is described in EP 0 422 454 B1. The shaft with the kneading elements is supported via shaft journals in “rolling bearings”, in which at least one packing of sealing material is inserted and compressed in a sealing housing between the shaft, the dynamic part, and the housing, the static part, which causes the sealing packing to nestle tightly against the sliding surface.
Sealing housings of this type have to be mounted flexibly in order to absorb movements of the shaft. This has taken place up to now via corresponding bellows connections between the sealing housing and the static part, but these bellows connections are likewise subject to a considerable wear and break apart over the course of time because of fatigue.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device of the above-mentioned type, wherein the forces which occur are absorbed to a suitable extent, but the wearing parts can easily be exchanged.